Belgian spends a massive 175 kilometers in the breakaway at the first Italian one-day race of the season.
It was a race full of attacking endeavour from Louis Vervaeke on the hilly roads of Trofeo Laigueglia, which marked our second outing of the season on Italian soil. The experienced Belgian, who came to the start following a strong outing at the Giro di Sardegna – where he helped our team win the general classification – was the main animator of the day. Minutes after the start, he jumped from the peloton and booked a place in a strong ten-man breakaway that went on to forge out a seven-minute maximum advantage over the chasers with around 120 kilometers to go.
It soon became clear that the peloton would have to work hard in order to bring them back, especially after Louis dropped his companions with more than 70 kilometers to go, an audacious attack that saw him continue by himself at the front and rack up points on the many climbs on the 192km course. Things continued to look promising for our rider as he entered the last hour of the race, but the odds shifted inside the last 30 kilometers, when a small but strong group took off from the bunch and set off in pursuit of Louis.
The catch was made with just three climbs left, but Vervaeke was rewarded for his impressive day at the front of Laigueglia, taking to the podium after the race to receive the KOM prize – a well-deserved achievement for the 32-year-old Belgian. Soudal Quick-Step was represented also in the top ten, by Mauri Vansevenant, who confirmed here his strong start to the season after the eighth place he took in Saudi Arabia just a few weeks ago.
“It wasn’t really the goal today to go in the breakaway, but eight guys attacked and I just followed. At one point, I felt it was going too slow, so I accelerated and went for a long solo. I had a really good day on the bike and could keep a good gap. I hoped they would catch me on only the last climb so I could ride the final, but it happened earlier. Taking the KOM classification was a nice bonus. At the same time, I’m really happy with my shape before Strade Bianche and with going on this long breakaway. If you don’t try, you don’t win”, Louis said after the race.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
